It is just past midday and many restaurants on the banks of the Seine in Paris offer an unusual sight: one can choose a table. Most are empty.
Traffic is heavy but only a handful of passers-by wind their way through temporary power generators and metal fences separating the pavement from the road.
The Games are expected to cost the state between €3 billion and €5 billion.
Pierre Moscovici,
French Court of Auditors president
The fences have been set up to manage the flow of more than 200,000 people expected next week to come to watch, for free, the Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony on the river.
“I have 30 per cent less clients than usual,” said restaurant owner Olivier Cornet, 54. He hopes they will be back next month. “It'll be like a tsunami: the wave draws back before hitting hard.”
Business owners are anxiously waiting for the Games to deliver the highly anticipated increase in tourists and associated spending of €2.7 billion ($2.9 billion), but figures so far have been disappointing.
Tour operators are reported to be expecting a 2 per cent decrease in booking during the Games, which officially open on July 26 and close on August 11.
Flagship carrier Air France has said it expected a loss of €180 million as tourists avoid the French capital, fearing congestion, traffic restrictions and public transport price hikes.
As well as the missing tourists, Parisians who check out of the city every summer appear to have taken their leave earlier than usual.
Not festive yet
“It doesn't feel festive yet, though the atmosphere was terrific when the Olympic flame came through the streets” last week, said Mr Cornet.
The area around the restaurant has become one of several restricted areas – red and grey zones – that can only be accessed with QR codes until July 26.
The grey zone is an anti-terrorist protection area near the opening ceremony that was implemented from Thursday morning.
“This means that to enter the area which runs along the Seine in Paris … you must have an authorisation,” said Paris police chief Laurent Nunez. “And you'll be subject to an identity check, searches and pat-downs.”
There is also a red zone, where traffic is banned around competition sites. It has so far only been activated around the Athletes Village, north of the capital.
On Thursday, those with the precious QR code – either on their phones or printed out on paper – passed smoothly past police checkpoints at gaps in the barriers that are taller than most people.
While authorities announced the code system last year and have been meeting with local residents for months to explain the restrictions, not everyone was aware. Officers were patiently explaining to visitors without the pass how to reach iconic Paris monuments without going through the restricted zone.
Officers were under instructions to be polite and patient as employees on their way to work and others dealt with the perimeter and the passes for the first time.
But Mr Nunez said that after the initial 24 hours of being accommodating, officers would apply the rules much more firmly, with no more looking the other way for those without QR codes.
The Trumilou, which serves classic French cuisine to a mix of tourists and locals, is in the grey zone.
“I have loads of clients who live on Ile Saint-Louis and have left for the Games,” said Mr Cornet.
“But it's not a catastrophe,” he added. “I know they'll be back because many have tickets.”
Raymond Pignol's restaurant L'Auberge Café, near the Pont Neuf that spans the Seine, is just inside the metal fencing. He is less sanguine. “They’ve locked me up like a prisoner,” he said.
Hotels lower prices
Hotels are also likely to be impacted.
Months ago, reports said tourists were paying an eye-watering €1,000 on average for the opening ceremony.
Prices have since decreased by a couple of hundred euros as occupancy rates are expected to be lower than during previous years, according to consumer protection association UFC Que Choisir.
Organisers hope to attract 15 million people during the Games, including 13.4 nationals and 1.9 million foreigners.
One hotel owner recently told local radio that he had initially tripled his prices but had to reduce them to only 1.2 times more than usual.
“In terms of visitors, we are well below 2023,” Bellevue hotel director Alain Tourdes told France Bleu.
The positive effects of the Games should not be restricted to the economy and should also include long-term environmental benefits, argued Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo after she swam in the Seine on Wednesday.
The river was closed to the public more than 100 years ago due to high levels of pollution, but it is now set to be used for the swimming leg of the Olympics triathlon on July 30 and 31 and August 5.
The city spent €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) to prevent sewage leaks that dirty its waters.
“By cleaning the Seine, we obviously enable the Games to take place but, above all, we limit damage to the oceans,” Ms Hidalgo said.
“The Games were the motor and accelerator” for the clean-up, she added.
Organisers hope to limit costs by mostly using existing sports infrastructure for 95 per cent of their needs.
Economists estimate that the Paris Summer Games could be the third least expensive since 1988, after Atlanta and Sydney.
French Court of Auditors president Pierre Moscovici said in March the Games are expected to cost the state between €3 billion and €5 billion.
The overall cost, including private money, is estimated at €9 billion.
Hotels and local businesses are now hoping for last-minute reservations.
“It's very French to take time to become enthusiastic about something,” said Mr Cornet.
Honeymoonish
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ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
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In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2)
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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